For Artists

This section is designed to help artists create assets to be used in 001 Game Creator. Below are some brief explanations of some of the terms used throughout this section:

Sprites – graphics that can be moved around the screen or otherwise manipulated as a singular entity. Characters, vehicles, effects, etc.

Sprite Sheet – a series of animation frames that have been combined into a larger image.

Tile-Sets – a collection of rectangular graphics or tiles that are then “painted” onto a Map. Terrain, walls/roofs, objects (such as furniture), etc.

Items – graphics that can be held, equipped or otherwise used by a player or NPC (Non-Playable Character). Weapons, tools, consumables, etc.

Supported File Formats

001 Game Creator supports the following graphic file formats:

PNG (transparency supported!)

JPG

JPEG

GIF

BMP

When using file formats that don’t support transparency, make sure you set the background color to Magenta (255, 0, 255) as 001 Game Creator will automatically interpret this color as transparency.

Resolution

001 Game Creator operates in multiples of 32 pixels (eg: 32×32, 64×32, 128×128, etc.) – It should be noted that this isn’t mandatory, as 001 Game Creator will still accept graphics with sizes that don’t follow this rule.

Tile-Sets are typically 256×256, with a singular tile being 32×32. Again, you don’t have to create graphics that follow this rule – though it is recommended. See image below for reference:

HD Tiles

It’s important to note that Tile-Set tiles are not limited to 32×32 pixels. When selecting an individual tile, you’re able to import graphics that exceed these dimensions (eg: 64×64 pixels). This will ensure Tile-Sets remain crisp on higher resolution monitors and/or when the Map Zoom functionality is used.

For Lower/Upper Objects, users can make use of the “Scale” box to resize HD Tile-Sets appropriately. For example: if you import a 64×64 tile, setting the Scale to 50% will cause the tile to display as a 32×32 pixel tile on Maps – with the added pixel density, creating a higher resolution tile.

Terraformation

Terraformation tiles are broken up into 16×16 portions in order to properly handle different combinations. Each square inside the Terraformation window is also a separate graphic, so keep this in mind when you create them. See images below for reference:

Ground/Wall tiles are 32×32. Each square in a Ground/Wall Terraformation is a separate graphic.

Grayscaling

When creating Sprites it’s recommended that you grayscale them, as color can be applied directly in 001 Game Creator itself – allowing for greater customisation of your Sprites. See image below for reference:

Layers

Animation

The “Male” Sprite (seen above) consists of a head, torso and legs but the arms appear to be missing? The arms are actually split into a separate animation layer which is important because it allows the user to specify whether it should appear in front of or behind the previous layer (naturally we want the arms to appear in front of the body and not behind it).

Other features (like eyes, clothing, etc.) are created as separate Sprites entirely and, similar to the animation layers themselves, can be rendered in front of or behind previous layers. See image below for reference:

A separate “Shirt” Sprite that can then be stacked on top of the “Male” Sprite. Once again, it’s important to grayscale the graphic so that color can be applied directly in 001 Game Creator itself. This also allows for any number of configurations, whilst in the editor, as individual pieces can be swapped out for others.

If using photoshop there is a very useful script feature to easily export each layer separately. Under the File menu option, navigate to Scripts. From there you should see an option titled Export Layers to Files. In the next context menu you will have options to trim exported layers of transparency, set the exported file format, only export visible layers, and set a prefix to exported files among multiple other options.

Render

001 Game Creator allows users to set a render priority (or layer order) of individual animation layers within a Sprite. Though this might seem somewhat irrelevant when creating your graphics (as this is a 001 Game Creator feature) it might be useful to keep this in mind as a reminder to split your graphics into multiple layers so that they’re more useful to 001 Game Creator users (referencing back to the “Male” and “Shirt” Sprites).

Color

Another good reason to create graphics with multiple animation layers is the color renderer (a 001 Game Creator feature) that allows users to specify unique colors for each individual animation layer within a singular Sprite. Using the “Male” Sprite as an example once again; because the arms are on a separate animation layer the user is able to specify an alternative color that only affects that animation layer and not the others. See image below for reference:

Animation 1 (the body) is white, whereas Animation 2 (the arms) are blue.

Holding Points

A holding point is a specified location on a Sprite where an Item graphic will appear, if selected. When creating Item graphics, make sure that the “handle” part (or the part you wish to be held) is in the centre of the image so that it is displayed properly when equipped. See image below for reference:

RPG Maker VX

001 Game Creator allows RPG Maker VX Tile-Sets and Sprite Sheets to be directly imported. Please note that some of them require the file name to end with the proper “_A1.png”, etc. in order for 001 Game Creator to properly recognise them. See images below for reference:

Actors are 96×128 split up into 4 rows for each animation direction (96×32 for each row)

Result

When you combine everything discussed above, you’ll get something that looks like this:

“Male” Sprite with a light complexion, green arms and a full outfit of clothing (that are each individual Sprites) including hair, sunglasses, a vest, pants and shoes. Whilst also holding an “Energy Sword” Item.